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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Vacation , Horseback Archery , doggie camp and a few other random musings

Well not much riding has been going on for me.Two weekends ago we went for a trail ride
about, 2 hrs only because my kneereally
started acting up.. (more on that in minute) but that has been it.

My hubby and I traveled to Vancouver BC to spend a couple
days doing the touristy thing prior to traveling northwardon to MT Currie ,BC for his CanadianHorseback Archery competition . Getting there
made for a long drive, about 13 hrs one way.But it was worth it.. seeing the ocean again was the highlight for
me,even if it was the cold Pacific.

We got to see a lot of the Vancouver area since we stayed
with friends just outside the city for a couple of night.BC is similar to Montana and the Rocky Mountains
but with the added feature of the ocean and a much more wet climate.Lots of lush thick green forests. Rain is
common in that part of the country,but
welucked out and had a couple of really
beautiful days.

Once we got to where the competition was held, Near Whistler
,B.C, and on a reservation, the true adventure began for me. As camping goes, I
haven’t ever really mastered the art of it… not being really into the
“roughing” it without access to a daily shower. Luckily, I stayed with ourfriend in Vancouver one extra day and only
had to camp out one night.“T’ went up a
day early to get a little extra training time and I met him up there early Sat
morning to see the competition.

When I arrived, I was thankful for the decision to stay
incivilization for the extra day ,
especially when I saw the bathroom facilities. It was two outhouses, with a 6
foot hole in the ground.

This was the “bathroom” sink…

It was a two day competition so as soon as “T’ was done with his turn on Sunday morning,we beat it out to hit the road and head home. We made it the trip home by
Monday mid day, having to stop for an overnight on Sunday.. too tired to
continue…

So now I am going to
go off track a bit only because it was a major part of the weekend.Have I ever really talked about Xena?? I
don’t think so, other than the photo of her on the sidebar of my blog and a few
random photos on various blog posts. I
suppose since this is a random post about lots of things, it seems like an
appropriate time.

This trip was the first time in
over 5years we have had to kennel a dog. It was the first time ever since having Xena
and Duncan .There was alot of anxiety
on my part about doing so.

My anxiety about kenneling them had more to do with Xena specifically, given her history.Sadly, little Xena had been tossed awaytwo other times before she was even two years
old by previous owners, with a rescue
operation being her foster care home twice in between those times … until we
found her.. It has taken us a considerable
amount of time and work to bring her outof her shell and deal with her issues. We got more than we bargained for
when we adopted her but by the time we figured out what kind of severe issues
we were dealing with, I was not willing to send her back to the rescue… once
again. I wasn’t sure I even liked the dog yet , as I recall, wondering what I had signed up for, but I could not put send her back again.. it wasn't fair to her. She deserved a chance.

Xenais more
fearfulthan anything but it comes out
as aggression, aka; fear aggression . it is common in dogs who have not been
socialized or exposed correctly at those crucial times during puppy hood.It’s also common in German Shepherds. Fortunately
with the help of a understanding friends who we have used as guinea pigs to
give her good experiences with strangers(ie, you don’t need to try to tear off
the hands of strangers) and a Schutzhund
trainer, we have made somegreat gains.

My biggest fear with thiskennel experience was that it was
going to throw her into a tail spin if she thought she was getting abandoned
once again and undo all the work over the last two years. In preparation, I took her for two walk thru’s at the kennel at the suggestion of the kennel owner. This
is supposed to give the dogs a good experience and then they get to go right
home. The hope is that they remember that when they go for the real thing.

Nonetheless, it still killed me knowing she would be so fearful
going to a kenneland there was nothing
I could do to make her understand I was going to come back for her, that it was
only temporary, that I was not leaving her like so many others had done in the
past. All I could do was tell her I would be back for her and hope she sensed
it????

Long story short, she did survive her stay. The kennel owner
said she spent two days hiding in her crate. which I expected since thatis her
safe zone . After a couple of days however, she reportedly did start
coming out and handling things better. Beyond that, the word was she did
fine.When we arrived to pick them up,
and she first saw us, she must have
surely been thinking

“really, you came back for me??? “

She was very excited to see us and she
promptly peed all over my feet in all of her excitement. I thought that was a small price to pay.

They ran and played all afternoon and evening in the back
yard once we got home and we tried to
tame thejungle of what was previously a
back yard.The grass could almost be
hayed.. When the evening came to an endand we all headed to bed … Xena went and laid down in the bathroom . I
got up to check on her and she appeared fine but I walked thru a wall of an awful smell emanating
from her...

**warning- those that have a sensitive stomach may not want
to read this next part..

Little Xena apparently relaxed , maybe just a little too
much and blessed uswith the expression
of her anals.. all over the bathroom
floor..(there could have been worse places this could have happened, like the
living room rug, which would have ruined it beyond repair).

Let me tell you if you have never experienced this darker
side of dog ownership… take my word for it… you don’t want to… It's not a smell you will ever forget..

I think since she was
finally able to relax that it just , well, released.She was utterly humiliated by this accident.
The whole dark side of dog ownership isn’t new to me but I will say that I have
never seen a dog leave a puddle of fluid behind like she did.. usually it’s
just a moment of“OMG , what is that
smell???” but you don’t actually see anything…this time there was an actual puddle of clear fluid on the tile and
then, if that was not bad enough she managed to get her tail and hip in it....

Ugghhh...

So as the clock struck midnight , we quietly (ok , gagged
and dry heaved ) through getting her and the bathroom floor cleaned up, opened
the windows, lit a few matches,sprayed
Lysolallin an attempt to clear the odiferous remnants of her accident.

I sincerely hope this doesn’t ever happen quite like that
again… I am not sure my stomach can handle it again.

So , vacation is over and now it’s time to try to get on
some routine with riding again. Remember back at the beginning of the post I
mentioned the knee??

So it seems I may have a lateral and medial l Meniscus tear
(thank you Spartan race)I went this morning for an MRI for a positive
diagnosisand I should have results by
Thursday afternoon . If it’s positive, meniscus tears do not get better with therapy or rest.
That means surgery.. which means a period of healing..which means no riding… But I can’t keep on with the way it is.. It’s
hurting to do any physical activity like biking, running, even walking. Worst
of all.. it’s hurting when I ride.. a lot..

For years, this knee has occasionally given me trouble but
nothing that has impeded my activities up until now. I suspect that I injured
the knee years ago when I took a bad fall skiing.

Several weeks ago, I did the Spartan race and about 2 miles
from the finish, it really started hurting on any downhill.. By the time I made
it across the finish line, I could barely bend it. I spent two days icing I and
it got mostly better but ever since, it flares up with any physical activity.
Squats , lunges.. out of the question , running or biking pretty much make me
wince in pain. Even walking for more than a half hourputs
me in a fair amount of agony and riding?? That was painful. Stay tuned for results and keep your fingers crossed it is not going to require any surgical treatment.

We have two Boxer-Malinios mix six month old puppies who we are working through the fear-aggression thing. They are both a bit timid and can be quelled with a simple "what did you just do?" question. We are going on vacation to Oregon for 10 days and will have to leave the pups in the kennel. I'm hoping they come out with no more issues then they go in with.

Does T use a horse bow for these competitions? If so, what kind? I have a recurve and have been fascinated by the idea of shooting from horseback. It looks like fun.

CG- Yes, do a post on your new pup! I want to hear all about him. I grew up with GSD's. They are great dogs. Glad you saved one on the way to the pound.

Karen-Thanks for reading! Malinois are very high energy dogs..Since yours are young, all I can say is socialize, socialize socialize. It would be scary to kennel a couple of pups but hopefully the kennel owner is caring and tentative enough. I let the kennel owner know way ahead of time and watched her interactions with Xena before I ever committed to taking her there. It has to be a good match.

Funder-yeah, the knee is total a bummer. It's hell to get old!! T did okay in the competition but certainly did not shoot his level, a 120 on the first day and 112 on the second. He should be shooting in the 140 -150 range but his head was not in the game and he gets really tense for competition.. I think I can understand that...